Batman/Detective Comics Series Discussion *Spoilers*

DETECTIVE COMICS #866
On sale JUNE 23 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US
Written by DENNIS O'NEIL
Art and cover by DUSTIN NGUYEN
1:25 "DC 75 Anniversary" Variant cover by WALTER SIMONSON
Continuing the spirit of celebration from BATMAN #700, comics legend Dennis O'Neil's returns to the Batcave in this stand-alone, 40-page issue! O'Neil spins a tale of the Dick Grayson Batman intertwined with those classic days when Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder, patrolled the mean streets of Gotham City!
And come back next month for the return of The Question and Batwoman!
Click to expand...

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly, I'd rather see Batwoman stay on Detective indefinitely than have her shuttled over to a new-launched series that probably won't achieve the sales necessary to last.
 
Why are they still letting Tony Daniel write Batman? He just revealed that the new Black Mask was Jeremiah Arkham and introduced a Catgirl.

Awful.
 
Both Batman and Detective Comics have been seriously disappointing me lately. It's sort of telling that (next to Batman and Robin, of course) Red Robin is easily the best Bat book that I'm reading. Then again, Red Robin is sincerely underrated.
 
Gideon Stargrave said:
Both Batman and Detective Comics have been seriously disappointing me lately. It's sort of telling that (next to Batman and Robin, of course) Red Robin is easily the best Bat book that I'm reading. Then again, Red Robin is sincerely underrated.
Click to expand...

Seriously?

DETECTIVE has been disappointing you?

Nah. Red Robin is pretty bad. Batman stumbles a lot, but it's not completely terrible. There are some high points, and it's better than if Winnick were writing.
 
Zombipanda said:
Seriously?

DETECTIVE has been disappointing you?

Nah. Red Robin is pretty bad. Batman stumbles a lot, but it's not completely terrible. There are some high points, and it's better than if Winnick were writing.
Click to expand...

I haven't been crazy about Detective since JH Williams III left. It's not bad so much as it's just disappointingly worse sans it's formerly fantastic artwork. Again, not that the current artist is particularly slouching, in fact he's quite strong, it's just not immersing me into the story in the same way. On a similar note, I really like Tony Daniels' art, but his writing is, and always has been, mediocre. If you ask me, Batman hasn't been worthwhile since Morrison left.

Maybe it's just the contrast of Detective/Batman's slow decline with Red Robin's steady increase in quality (I'll readily admit that those first few issues were fairly awful), but I'm definitely liking it more than most of the other Bat-books on the stands these days. I mean, sure, it's kind of goofy and superhero-ish, but I'm not diametrically and universally opposed to easing out the grittiness from Batman stories. Then again, I also just really, really like Tim Drake.
 
At the moment, I would rank them like this:

1. Batman and Robin
2. Detective Comics
3. Red Robin
4. Batman

I haven't read enough of Batgirl to rank it properly but I think it's probably at the same level as Red Robin. I do agree with Gideon that Detective Comics has had a drop in quality because of the lack of JHW3 but I am still enjoying it. I'm just sad that the Rucka/JHW3 Batwoman isn't happening anymore. :(

Red Robin has been pretty good recently. It's not great but it's pretty consistent. And Tim Drake is a great character.
 
I'm a fan of Red Robin, I think it has climbed in quality significantly since its launch. Batman and Robin is still my favorite, but Tim is firmly set at number two. I'm still liking Detective quite alot, but I do have to admit the quality has gone down more than I expected it to after JHW3... I mean, i wasn't expecting wowing art, but I was expecting the same engaging level of storytelling... I do like him building up a possible Captain Sawyer/Kate Kane relationship, and that's been the best of the last couple of issues, but I keep forgetting the overarching story month to month and that's never a good sign... I'm seriously enjoying the Question backups more than the Batwoman stories right now.

I enjoy Batgirl more than most, although it still has probelems. I've officially dropped Batman. Batman:Streets of Gotham has good moments, and I'm loving the Manhunter backups enough to make me wish she'd get her own ongoing again...

So here's my ranking:

1. Batman and Robin
2. Red Robin
3. Detective Comics
4. Batman: Streets of Gotham
5. Batgirl
6. Batman
 
Zombipanda said:
And then they showed another time line where Ginnis is fine and well and acting as Batman Beyond. I thought 700 was great.
Click to expand...

Ah, my bad.

Note to self: stop reading scans daily and assuming they give the full story.

So we're talking a completely seperate timeline or a continuation of the story mentioned above? While I'm pretty indifferent to Damien and hate the idea of him as Batman (he's never demonstrated he could really fill the role in the present day), I do think having him act as a mentor to Terry is a neat idea.
 
Grocer Man said:
Ah, my bad.

Note to self: stop reading scans daily and assuming they give the full story.

So we're talking a completely seperate timeline or a continuation of the story mentioned above? While I'm pretty indifferent to Damien and hate the idea of him as Batman (he's never demonstrated he could really fill the role in the present day), I do think having him act as a mentor to Terry is a neat idea.
Click to expand...

Well, there's a few ways to read it. The first is that the future of Damian Batman is only one of several possible and that the Batman Beyond future is a divergent timeline with a retired Bruce mentoring Terry. The second would be that Batman Beyond takes place further along the Damian timeline and Damian is mentoring him. The third, I guess, is that the two timelines are the same and by some unintended chain of events Damian goes away and Bruce ends up mentoring Terry.

I think it's clear, given Morrison's past, that none of the divergent timelines are supposed to be definitive. I also suspect that the Damian timeline is supposed to be more a sort of ominous foreshadowing, with the heroes in the present trying to prevent that future from ever coming about. Maybe it's a timeline where Bruce never returned (That's the impression 666 seems to give) or maybe it's a timeline where some other unfortunate event happens in the future. They show about half a dozen "future" Batmen, and it's hard to say if they're all supposed to fit into the same chronology or if they're possible divergent routes the mantle might take. I wouldn't put too much stock in it, honestly. It's clearly supposed to be a celebration of the Batman myth more than a means to railroad future continuity.

I think the couple of stories with Damian as Batman have been kind of neat.
 
Last edited:
Zombipanda said:
And then they showed another time line where Ginnis is fine and well and acting as Batman Beyond. I thought 700 was great.
Click to expand...

There was even a panel with Damian injecting Terry with a cure. He's fine.

I thought #700 was great too. Very well done. To 700 more issues indeed.
 
Okay, kinda baffled, according to DCComics.com, Batwoman: Elegy is collecting Detective Comics #854-860, but the Batwoman run only lasted #854-863. Are they going to do like a mini-trade to pick up the last 3 issues?
 
skotti-chan said:
Okay, kinda baffled, according to DCComics.com, Batwoman: Elegy is collecting Detective Comics #854-860, but the Batwoman run only lasted #854-863. Are they going to do like a mini-trade to pick up the last 3 issues?
Click to expand...

That's weird. I wouldn't be surprised if some trashy one-shots come out in the meantime to fill things out? or maybe they'll collect Batomwan's meager appearances in other books?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top